Clothes drying attachments for clothes washing machines



May 10, 1955 H Dl BOWMAN 2,708,230

CLOTHES DRYING ATTACHMENTS F OR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES Filed July 15, 1952 ,NYMHM D.BowMnN n T ro RNE] United States Patent O M' CLEFEES DRYING ATTACHMENTS F OR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES Hyman D. Bowman, Raleigh, N. C.

Application July 15, 1952, Serial No. 298,975

2 Claims. (Cl. 219-34) This invention relates to a clothes drying appliance, and important objects and advantages thereof are to provide a drying appliance of the character described, which may be readily and conveniently attached in the opening oi any home type of clothes washing machine, which will function eiectively to properly dry the washed clothes while the latter remain within the washing machine, which may be constructed to provide the lid for the washing machine during clothes Washing operations, which is simple in its construction and arrangement, durable and eiiicient in its use, compact, and comparatively economical in its manufacture, operation and maintenance.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, but it is to be understood that changes in the form, proportions and details of construction may be resorted to that come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawing wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a bottom plan view of the clothes drying appliance, constructed in accordance with the invention, with a portion of the guard member being broken away.

Figure 2 is a transverse cross sectional view of the lid structure and some of the associated parts.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the guard mem ber embodied in the present invention.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a modied form of the drying appliance embodying the invention.

Figure 5 is a transverse cross sectional view of the lid structure employed in the modilication of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the improved clothes dryer comprises a circular lid 1, which is designed and intended to serve as a cover for the opening of a cylindrical tub-type of home washing machine indicated at 2 in dot and dash lines. lt is, of course, obvious that the lid may be of any suitable configuration to tit the opening of any other type of home washing machine.

The lid 1 includes an annular flange 3, which extends both above and below the respective faces of the lid. The flange overlaps the top edge of the washing machine 2 to maintain the lid in position when the latter is placed on the Washing machine. The described flange construction allows the lid to be either positioned on the Washing machine in the shown operative position for drying purposes, or in the reversed position when the lid is being used as a cover for the washing machine during clothes Washing operations.

A heat insulating plate 4 of any suitable material is secured against and cover the entire area of the inner face of the lid l. The exposed face of the insulating plate has a polished, light-colored surface to serve as a reflector for augmenting the efficiency of the appliance in clothes drying operations.

2,708,239 Patented May l, 1955 ICC An electric heating element 5, of any suitable construction and supported by the lid 1, is positioned below the heat insulating plate 4. The heating element is provided with a plug-in cord 6 and with a suitable control 7, which is preferably operable for thermostatically regulating the heat for a predetermined temperature and for automatically suspending the operation of the heating element after the lapse of a predetermined period of time.

The heating element 5 is enclosed within a guard niember 8 to prevent contact of the clothes being dried with the energized heating element. The guard member is constructed of any suitable foraminous material and is secured against the exposed face of the insulating plate 4 by means of the embodied collar 9 and the bolts 19, in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 2.

The lid 1 is provided with a pair of cushioning rings, respectively indicated at l1 and 12, for cushioning the attachment of the drying appliance with the washing machine. The ring 11 is secured against the exposed face of the insulating plate 4, and the ring 12 is secured against the top face of the lid. The lid is further provided with a manipulating handle 13, and with a vent 14 for dissipating any vapor attending clothes drying operations.

In practice, the water is drained from the washer chamber and from the clothes to be dried within said chamber. The dryer appliance is positioned to cover the opening of the washing machine, whereby the heating element S will depend into the washer chamber. The heating element is operated to heat and diffuse the contined air Within the washer' chamber, while the washed clothes within the chamber are being continuously shifted or agitated by the operation of the washing machine. The drying operation is continued as long as required to effect the drying of the clothes.

The modified form of the invention, shown in Figures 4 and 5, comprises a anged non-reversible lid 15, which carries an electric heating element 16 and a heat insulating plate 17. The heating element 16 is mounted in a foraminous guard member 1S supported from the lid 1S. An air agitating device or fan 19 is also mounted in the guard member 13 and is positioned above the associated heating element. The -fan is operated by an electric motor 2li, which is mounted on the lid 15. The operation of the fan 19 during the clothes drying process will circulate the conned heated air within the washer chamber and thereby expedite clothes drying operations.

The present invention provides a most eiiicient device of its kind, which may be economically constructed, and successfully employed for the purpose and in the manner herein set forth.

What I claim is:

l. A clothes drying attachment for a clothes washing machine, comprising a lid for covering the top opening of the washing machine, said lid including an annular flange extending along the periphery of said lid and projecting at right angles from respective faces of the latter for maintaining said lid in position on the washing machine, a heat insulating plate secured against one face of said lid and having an exposed reflector surface, a heating element attached to said lid and being positioned on said reflector surface of said plate, and a guard member carried by said lid and enclosing said heating element.

2. A clothes drying attachment for a clothes washing machine comprising, in combination, a lid for covering the top opening of the washing machine, said lid including an annular iange extending along the periphery of said lid and projecting at right angles from respective faces of the latter for maintaining said lid in position on the Washing machine, a heat insulating plate secured against one face of said lid and having an exposed reector surface, a heating element attached to said iid and being positioned on said reflector surface of said plate, a guard member carried by said lid and enclosing said heating element, said iid provided with an air vent extending through said plate, and a pair of cushioning rings disposed against the inner face of said ange and being secured against respective faces of said lid.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gerosa Apr. 22, 1930 Breckenbridge Aug. 31, 1943 Manacher Apr. 17, 1951 Reich July 1, 1952 Tucker Aug. 26, 1952 

